Humorous book by
Canadian naturalist and author
Farley Mowat. The book is a chronicle of Mowat's journey to the
Arctic, where he has been assigned (by the
government) to survey the land for wolves and discover what is causing the decreasing
caribou population.
Mowat presents a humorous and somewhat cynical attitude throughout the book. Mowat manages to sustain himself on a diet of mice for a period of time, in order to see how the wolves do it. He names the wolves (George, Angeline, Albert) as he becomes closer to them, and he arrives just in time to see their new litter of pups.
Ootek, an Eskimo native to the region, assists Mowat in his studies and provides religious background as to the importance of the wolf. Ootek's cousin, named Mike, provides lodging for Mowat.
At the end of the novel, Mowat concludes that hunters, not wolves, are causing the caribou to become sparse. He also says that wolves aren't the savage beasts they're made out to be. Hence the sarcastic title "Never Cry Wolf."